The resulting flames scorched and damaged plaster narrowly missed their children Bonnie, one, and Fife, three, who were playing just metres away from two sockets where the fireball erupted.

Stephanie with the telephone terminal inside her home which was blown out

All amazingly escaped without a scratch but Steph, 28, said that they were still coming to terms with what had happened.

She said: “I was in the kitchen dishing up dinner and Gavin had just joined me from the front room when we heard a massive bang.

“We raced into the front room but couldn’t see a thing.

“Everything was bright orange and there was smoke everywhere, it was pretty scary, I was just thinking the worst.

“We managed to get to the kids and pulled them outside and ran out of the back door because there were flames pouring out of the socket nearest the phone line and the one connecting the TV, which was destroyed by the strike.

“Amazingly neither of them had any injuries at all even though Bonnie was sitting less than one metre from the biggest blaze.

“Our neighbour, who saw the whole thing, said the lightning hit the pole and a giant ball of fire went along the cable into our house.”

They called Huddersfield fire brigade who extinguished the billowing smoke plumes.

Gavin and Stephanie Campbell outside their home

Steph, who works part time at Balloon People in the Queensgate Market said: “It’s left big black marks on the walls, pulled off some plaster and both the plugs need changing, along with the TV.

“I think it’s going to cost several thousand to put everything right but we’re hopefully going to claim off insurance.

“We ‘re also going to be without home phones for a while until the BT cable is replaced.

“One of our neighbour’s TVs also blew up and her and our other neighbour’s phone lines are now down but thankfully no one has been hurt.

“It was just really crazy-we were sat outside not long before looking at the lightning and always liked to watch the storms.

“There’s not a lot anyone can do to try prevent it happening so we’re just going by the old mantra that lightning never strikes twice in the same place.”